CHEMICAL INDUSTRY EUROPE

Cefic unveils five-point plan to accelerate shift to circular economy / Trade body urges action over ambition

MICROPLASTICS

Glass bottles more contaminated than plastic / Beer bottles found to have highest content but wine is fine – Anses report

PLASTICS WASTE

OECD records another fall in global trade for 2023 / More waste sent to non-member countries, halting previous trend

POLYMERS FOR EUROPE ALLIANCE

Best Polymer Producer Awards winners announced at EuPC annual meeting / Industry leaving Europe overarching issue

PLASTICS ACADEMY

Plastics Hall of Fame inducts six Europeans / Official honour to take place during K 2025 trade fair in October

TRADE WAR

US, China agree to reduce export restrictions; rare earths to be supplied again / Trump says relationship with China is ‘excellent'

PLASTICS AND ENVIRONMENT

Development banks invest EUR 3 bn in Clean Oceans Initiative 2.0

PFAS

Sustainable healthcare group warns of forever chemicals inaction / 150 European medical professionals write to EU Commission

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Israel, Chile, US ranked top three waste producers / Japan, South Korea, Estonia best performers in waste management – Senseneo World Global Index 2025

RESEARCH

Aimplas collaborates on greener bioplastics food packaging project / Novel PLA copolymers to improve biodegradability

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Rising virgin-material use outpacing circularity growth / Global material extraction to rise 60% by 2060 – Circularity Gap report

USA

Trump budget bill foreseen to starve clean energy / Elimination of tax credits a death blow to IRA

SCOTLAND

Retailers applaud government's delay of single-use cup charge

SPAIN

Authorities arrest five, question 15 in alleged criminal plastics waste import-export network

TRADE WAR

Trump defers EU tariffs till 9 July / The euro rallies in response

PET

European Commission initiates investigation on dumping from Vietnam

3M

Fluorochemicals maker to pay USD 450 mn for groundwater contamination with PFAS / Related production to be phased out

WASTE LEGISLATION GERMANY

Single-Use Plastics Fund: deadline extended for declaration of volumes / Registrations lower than planned

PACKAGING EUROPE

Trade groups criticise European Commission plans to greenlight state-run PROs / Move “will be a tax on producers”

RECYCLING UK

BPF requests companies making false claims about recycled plastic content be reported to EA / Trade body calls for verification